Nourse, Joseph (1786-1792) Auditors Report on the Acct. of Henry Knox Esq. Secretary for the War Department
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.10243 Author/Creator: Nourse, Joseph (1786-1792) Place Written: s.l. Type: Manuscript document signed Date: 9 December 1791 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; 38.3 x 22.9 cm. Order a Copy
Title from docket. Three parts. First part with a copy of R. Harrison's signature. Writes concerning the account between the Treasury Department and Knox as Secretary of War, "commencing July 1st and ending November 30th 1791 ... " The total amount due to the state comes to $3,672.97. Noted that "[t]he Statement and Documents on which this Report is founded are herewith Transmitted for the [decision ?] of the Comptroler of the Treasury Thereon."
Second part with a copy of Oliver Wolcott's signature. Writes about the "[s]unary additional credits to the Secretary at War having been admitted by the Comptroler in the former Settlement Report ..."
Third part signed by Joseph Nourse and dated 12 November 1792. Writes "I certify that the foregoing is a True Copy the original of which is filed on Record in this Office." Noted as written in the Registers Office of the Treasury Department. Noted as No. 1796 and written in the Auditors Office in the Treasury Department, which was most likely in Washington D. C. Watermarked "S W L" and with a hunting horn.
Harrison was a merchant in Alexandria, Virginia before becoming the unofficial United States consul to Spain from 1780-1786, though he was officially appointed in 1790. He became an auditor in the Treasury Department in 1791 and served in that position until 1836. Wolcott was United States Secretary of the Treasury and governor of Connecticut. After serving as state comptroller of Connecticut, he was named auditor of the Federal Treasury, and became comptroller of the Treasury in 1791. He was appointed Secretary of the Treasury by George Washington in 1795 to succeed Alexander Hamilton, but resigned in 1800 due to unpopularity, and a particularly vitriolic campaign against him in the press in which, among other things, he was falsely accused of setting fire to the State Department building. Nourse was the Register of the Treasury Department.
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